December 18, 2023
Peterson (Knowing You) kicks off her Heart of Cheyenne series with a crackling romance set against the backdrop of a bustling, crime-riddled frontier town. It’s 1867 when 20-year-old Marybeth Kruger’s father dies in a wagon accident, leaving her the sole caretaker of her one-year-old sister, Carrie. To make matters worse, the local pastor pressures Marybeth to let a wealthy couple adopt her baby sister. Marybeth’s friend, kind widower Edward Vogel, proposes a platonic marriage to save Carrie and give her a stable life. The three start afresh in Cheyenne, an “end-of-the-rails” frontier town in Dakota Territory, where their bare-bones life involves sleeping in a tent in frigid temperatures and avoiding a veritable sea of criminals, especially the fearsome brothers Hank and Emory Garlow. As Marybeth and Edward adapt to the town, they yearn for more than a platonic relationship, though trouble—in the form of a run-in with the Garlow brothers that ends in gunfire—threatens to snuff out the pair’s chance at happiness. Peterson adeptly balances a propulsive story line with Marybeth and Edward’s slow-burning romance, which is woven through with deeply felt meditations on letting go of grief and embracing unexpected love. This spirited series launch will whet appetites for the next installment.